Design for Successful Hillside Development

Hillside development is a hot topic in Southern California. Many of the hillside projects developed in the past few years have been insensitive to the natural character of the terrain. The resulting public displeasure has caused cities and countries to enact new laws and technical criteria for hillside development. Unfortunately, the professional design community has not always had significant input. Design standards thus produced have frequently proven ineffective or counterproductive. The guidelines suggested here are intended to contribute technically sound, economically feasible, and environmentally acceptable hillside development. The guidelines are specifically drafted to apply to single‐family housing projects on steep terrain in Southern California. However, many of the concepts have far broader application. Topics include design procedure, general layout, grading concepts, revegetation of slopes, drainage, and erosion protection.